Voeren, News, Pictures & buzz

'Taking the pressure off': relax rules for outdoor activities, says Van Ranst  The Brussels Times

Yellow alert for slippery roads extended until Wednesday  The Brussels Times

Travel ban: 'We have many questions,' say travel agents  The Brussels Times

Brussels court rejects extradition of Catalan politician to Spain  The Brussels Times

Brussels Airport Mediator disapproves TUI fly Belgium’s touch-and-go landings at Brussels Airport  Aviation24.be

Polish Agricultural Industry Enraged by Proposed Government Ban on Kosher Meat Exports  Algemeiner

Severe traffic disruptions expected due to E17 blockades at French border on Thursday  The Brussels Times

Campaign launched by teenager to remove statues of Congo coloniser Leopold II gains pace in Belgium  Art Newspaper

One of Belgium's most wanted criminals arrested in Surinam  The Brussels Times

Two Belgian universities in world Top 100  The Brussels Times

SoftBank-backed lender OakNorth doubles staff, inks deal with NIBC Bank  Reuters

Harvard Law Students Urge Removal of Slaveholder Reference From School Seal  Wall Street Journal

European Tree of the Year competition – in pictures  The Guardian

Belgium and the Netherlands swap land without a single shot being fired  Big Think

Anger at court decision to move Maastricht’s drug ‘coffee shops’  Irish Times

Belgian province of Limburg to seek 2018 Tour de France start | Cyclingnews  Cyclingnews.com

In Praise of Borders - The New York Times  New York Times

Dutch plan to shift dope 'coffee shops' arouses fury  Times of Malta

randeedawn: @dahomes Voeren, Belgium. I’ll get lots of writing d~&*e here. https://t.co/pT3PY6L8FA

I heard it was getting better between the native French speakers and the native Dutch speakers. I have a friend from Antwerp and from his mother's side he has a grandmother that speaks French and he makes fun of her for that. I thought it was quite weird but I did know that there has been a long & complicated history between them. Is it still prevalent today? Do they get along today? Also, do they intermarry with one another or try to avoid each other? Sorry for the many questions, I was just curious

West- and East Flemish are repressed, people are looked down upon by many for preferring to speak dialect. I never hear any of them on the radio whereas if I listen to Radio Zeeland, I live close enough to the border to listen to it at home, people take a pride in their local dialects during a phone-in, there was a 'dialects day'. Having lived in Ov, Br and NH over the years it is the same story there... Do it on Belgian radio and they will discourage if not denigrate the dialectic speaker. It's a generalisation, i know. But so it is to say that there is no ambiguity in what Flemish really is. I do not consider Flemish a Dutch dialect. I speak West-Flemish every day and can tell you that despite it being a Germanic language there is a awfull lot of French in Bruges dialect. Albeit very bastardised. Flemish was a language long before there was even Belgium. John, the biggest language riots I remember were late 70's early 80's in Voeren and also around Menen/Moeskroen. I lived in the UK for 22 years and worked 12 of those in a pub and Stella really isn't that top of the list for most. That would have been local ales, newkie brown and 1664. And jeroen, Flemish is not the official language of the northern part of Belgium. Actually it is Dutch and AN to be more precise. Shows how well informed you are...

PLANCK ST 13 B DE PLANCK 3790 ST NARSENS VOEREN BELGIUM Thanks guys! This is my great aunt's last known address..and I'm just trying to find her. :-)

Are there any nice towns, or small villages to stop on the way? I would really like to see some small villages with some nice cozy places to eat or get some coffee. I also speak some French so it would be nice to go to a French-speaking town.. as I understand in Belgium some places speak exclusively french?